News & Notes

President Trump: Executive Order Letter from the Seamen's Church Institute

​Dear Friends,

On January 27, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order (E.O.) that, among other things, suspended for 90 days entry into the United States by citizens of Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, and Libya. I have confirmed with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that for the 90-day period, seafarers from those seven countries will not be allowed shore leave or be signed off their vessels on D visas nor will they be allowed to enter the United States on C visas to join their vessels.

The E.O. provides some flexibility for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to allow entry into the United States on a case-by-case basis when it is in the national interest to do so. Although we do not anticipate that many exceptions to the E.O. will be approved, we hope that this flexibility will be used in cases where seafarers need to enter the United States for urgent medical care.

Although there was some initial uncertainty on how the E.O. would be implemented and uncertainty as to what will happen after the 90 day suspension period, we are in close contact with CBP to respond to any questions and individual cases.